Hi All,

Just wondering the best way to put a dog on a diet- the pom chi my sister is rehoming is way overweight. She is going to be put on a raw diet once she is settled into the house.

Should my sister just start feeding her the appropriate amount of food and exercise regularly, or do you recommend gradually reducing so she doesn't get hunger pangs?

Josh

She could bulk up with veg if the dog gets too hungry, I had to do that with Logan (min pin) as he couldn't go out much - so less exercise and he needed entertaining too.  So he got hooves stuffed with a tinned meat/veg mix.

I bulked up my old spaniels food with frozen sliced green beans and it worked well, he was on kibble.

I would carry on with her present food to start with so if she has an upset stomach it isn't due to a change in diet and then gradually change over to raw and see how she does on that and whether the weight comes off naturally before bulking up with veg.

How old is the dog Josh?  If she's elderly I'd suggest your sister take it slowly - gradually increase the exercise and feed amounts appropriate to her correct weight.

If the dog is younger she might be able to take things a little quicker but do suggest your sister is careful not to over exercise in the early days.  Little and often is better for weight loss and for muscle tone than long walks, and it'll give your sister more time to assess her temperament and personality.

She can also do lots of training exercises in the garden : it'll give the dog a chance to show what she knows, but in a safe and contained environment.  I'd suggest your sister takes the dog back to basics, like you do with a puppy, whilst they get to know each other.  Training is great for bonding and whatever the dog already knows, she'll benefit from learning her new owners style :)

She has just turned 4 so not elderly but by no means a puppy.

Thanks for the advice, I will advise her to bulk up on veg if she is getting hungry. She is getting the dog tomorrow and has two weeks worth of her current food, hopefully she is going to get her tomorrow if the home check goes well :)

Josh

Remember fruit too!  My old spaniel gets a tiny bit of kibble mixed with apples, melon, brocili, cauli, carrots, green beans, turnip, sweet potato.
It's a pain because she gets medication which needs to be added to food so I need to give her tinned meat(with meds in) which means she gets less kibble now than ever hence my reason for bulking with fruit and veg.
Also, when I fed my lot raw, my old dog lost a LOT of weight.  In fact, I found it very difficult to keep the weight on her. Now she has been spayed and is on meds and our pup is now a year old, I am switching back to RAW to try and get her weight down again.  When your sister makes the switch, she will probably find the weight will fall off as the body adjusts to the correct food.

I found that Nando gained weight when I first put him on raw, I think that is mostly due to his age though. He was at a horrible skinny gangly age! Because I wanted to achieve the weight gain I fed him mostly lamb, pork and beef where as previous to that he was on chicken and turkey mainly.

I do not add any fruit or veg to his meals though, only very occasionally. He does however get whole rabbits who's guts must be full of grasses etc. I don't think I could ever switch back from raw now I have started feeding this way.

Josh, the OP was looking for ways to cut down the calorie intake, hence the mention of fruit and veg. 
Also, supposedly the most natural veg to give your dog is fermented salad.  It is the closest thing to what they would naturally eat in their preys stomach! Yuck!

crarar josh was the op or have I misunderstood your post :)  Although i only feed rmb when brooke had a weight problem I bought nature dietfrozen fruit and veg to bulk her food up as she is such a foodie. That way I cut her overall calories but at the same time kept the bulk. Worked very well and now 6 months later I have a dog with a waist again !!

With my breed who put on weight easily, I have found the only way to loose weight is to cut food in half, and if the dog is scrounging bulk up with low cal veg.

The chances are if the food is halved (and it was more than the dog needed, and why ti got fat) then your not actually feeding only half.

Most of us when dieting roughly halve our intake for it to come off at a reasonably effective rate.

Cracar- I was the OP! LOL! I imagine fermented fruit veg and grass to be closest to what's in the stomach.

The food she is fed at the moment isn't the best, she is a victim of being loved too much! Ha ha

HAHAHA!!Serves me right for posting so early in the morning!! Sleepyhead :P
Sorry Josh.lol.
PS If you know how to fatten one up(can you give me tips! My GSD is a skinny runt!), then you know how to thin one out! Just do the opposite!!lol

My GSD is a skinny runt too! He is getting better though and the key I found was lots of tripe and lots of lamb/beef.

Boak!! I am actually going to switch back over to raw.  I changed all mine to kibble as I wasn't confident raising a puppy on raw but she is just coming up to a year so I am switching back.  Hopefully, the weight will pile on!!
Need to get a new freezer too! Switched my old one on and it's dead!!:(

I did that once,and it started smoking,whoops!